Posted by Guy Downes on June 29, 2010 under Graphic Recording | 
Start of Day 1: two graphic recording posters (3m x1m) are in position
Overview:
- Graphic recording at an intimate two-day closed door event, titled ‘Innersphere’ – an ongoing programme of CEO-level retreats created solely for ING’s executives and key distributors across Australia
- Event experience created by experience dna – designers and deliverers of effective and transforming communications in the live event space
- CEO-level, senior government and high profile business and media guest speakers attended the event
- Event held at Hotel Realm and Old Parliament House, Canberra
- As the graphic recorder, I produced 11 large creative posters (each 3m X 1m) of all presentations and panel sessions, drawing them ‘live’ as the speakers were presenting
The main room on Day 1: immacutely designed and created by experience dna at Hotel Realm
Two high-impact days. Two impressive venues. 11 influential speakers. High-level topics covering financial, political, business and life matters. Over 20 senior financial services executives attending.
These are just a few of the key ingredients that created the setting for ING’s compelling and engaging ‘Innersphere’ – a top to bottom design delivery of an ongoing programme of CEO-level retreats seamlessly created by ING and experience dna.
Innersphere’s creates opportunities for ING senior management to build alignment and relationships with ING’s key client base and vice versa.
Drawing the conversation 'live': poster #1 is complete and filled with ideas, topics and questions from the first presentation
As the event’s ‘live’ graphic recorder, my role over the two days was to:
- visually capture all the presentations and panel sessions onto large posters using a mixture of hand-drawn pictures, words and images
- draw a creative record of the conversations and key themes that would capture imagination during the retreat and ‘live on’ after the event.
Why else was I there?
- to inject a level of creativity, colour and innovation during the proceedings;
- to reflect the event’s objective of doing things differently; and
- to work with experience dna and ING to create template posters on the day that could be used to capture critical information generated from discussions and team workshops.
Colour, images, words: a shot of one of my graphic recording posters from Day 2 at Old Parliament House
The presentations, Q&A’s and panel sessions involved ING executives, former politicians, financial executives, treasury officials, CEOs and media guest speakers.
Speakers included senior executives from ING, Bernard Salt (KPMG), Nigel Marsh (CEO, Y&R Brands and author of ‘Fat, Forty and Fired’), Bernie Ripoll (Ripoll Report), John Brogden and Terry Bell (Business Health Check) among others.
As the graphic recorder, I produced 11 large creative posters (each 3m X 1m) of all presentations and panel sessions, drawing them ‘live’ as the speakers were presenting.
Commenting on my work and involvement, Roger Dowling, Managing Director, and Ian MacIntosh, Creative Director, experience dna Live Events, said: “ING Innersphere is a CEO-level, intimate and bespoke event and one of the key objectives behind the two day gathering is to do things differently. Experience DNA brought Guy on board to help achieve exactly this. By using his graphic recording, art and communication skills, Guy ‘drew’ the conversation, ideas, challenges and opportunities as they were being discussed onto large scale and panoramic-style posters. Guy has the unique ability of being able to distil and humanise complex topics into creative and eye-catching posters (without losing any of the core messages). Guy’s work has also delivered ING a memorable creative record of the event that they can reference for future purposes”.
Coffee break at Old Parliament House: my posters create a backdrop to the conversation during coffee and throughout the presentations, Q&A and panel sessions
Here are some snap shots of the posters and one template I created for a workshop session:
The ING logo: quickly and colourfully sketched at the top of each poster
An icon example from one of my posters to symbolise 'alignment'
Examples of icons, images, words and colour
A template poster used by teams in a workshop to identify industry hot topics
The view on departure from ING Innersphere
Posted by Guy Downes on June 28, 2010 under Cartoons |
It’s been a tough World Cup to watch so far. Stressful springs to mind. It was painful enough watching the Socceroos miss qualification to the round of 16 — especially as they were improving and went out on a high.
Last night it was England’s turn. But this was a different story. A team on paper which screams talent but on the pitch lacks cohesion, urgency, shape and ‘teeth’. With goal-line technology Lampard’s goal would have stood This could have swung the match – but it did not. The Germans took the game to England and they were far superior and far more exciting to watch (it pains me to say this but it’s true). The strong, swift and lone eagle outwitted, outplayed and mauled the three lions.
Posted by Guy Downes on June 27, 2010 under Illustration |
Stories are an essential ingredient in children’s lives as they provide vital entertainment, learning skills and stimulation – plus they help them to understand the world around them.
I recently illustrated a children’s story for the London Mums magazine ‘Story Time’ column. The aim of the story was to:
- help strike a connection between words, sound, image and feeling and;
- combine these senses and to help make music more accessible to children.
The writer invited children and their carers to read a story about a group of animals in the African savannah alongside a piece of selected classical music (Vivaldi’s Four Seasons). They were invited to read the story first, then listen to the music and see if they could fit both together in their own way, adding to the story as they went based on what they were reading, the illustrations they were looking at and the music they could hear.
My role was to select two key moments and illustrate them to help bring the story to life and in doing so hopefully spark ideas and imagination as the child and carer were reading together. I illustrated these pictures using pencil, ink and colour.
London Mums magazine is the official publication of London Mums, the only free and independent peer support group for mums based in London (UK). The support group has over 10,000 full active members (as at May 2010) with members helping each other through the joys and challenges women face with raising their children. The magazine is complimented by its website: www.londonmums.org.uk
The magazine’s reach is large. 30,000 copies are delivered to antenatal / postnatal clinics and hospitals, local libraries, edutainment and leisure centres, nurseries and schools, family friendly shops and businesses across London.
The content is produced by London Mums Ltd and its editorial team focuses on topics and issues of interest to mums and mumpreneurs based in London. It features real mums’ testimonials, high profile family experts and celebrity mums.
Recent celebrities that have been interviewed for the publication include some high profile names, such as :
- Amanda Hamilton, the UK’S most popular television “mum-presenter”, successful mumpreneur and writer, best known for co-hosting BBC food and lifestyle programme “Something for the Weekend”
- Jacquie Beltrao, Sky News presenter
- Emma Forbes, former presenter of BBC children’s show ‘Live & Kicking’, broadcaster, a true London Mum and Mumpreneur
- Some interviews are here.
Having lived in a big city with kids, I know that resources like London Mums are vital for Mums, parents, carers and children. It’s a good, relevant, interesting and colourful magazine – one that you can read at length over a coffee or dip into quickly at any time to get some top tips or useful ideas.
Posted by Guy Downes on June 25, 2010 under Cartoons |
Whether you’re an agency accountant, an Account Director or basically anyone in business, I’m sure you’ve all been down this road. Getting paid (on time) is the lifeblood of business.
Posted by Guy Downes on June 24, 2010 under Cartoons |
Sometimes landing big ideas and getting them accepted on ground level can be really challenging. In your mind, the idea may be one of your best ever but the client (who could be an external client, colleague or your boss etc) may have different ideas. Their unwillingness to buy into your idea can make the runway short and narrow. Or sometimes it’s just simply your approach to selling the idea that makes touch down impossible…
Posted by Guy Downes on June 23, 2010 under Cartoons |
Posted by Guy Downes on June 4, 2010 under Black & White |
Airports are a great place for thinking time. It’s also the perfect opportunity to sketch as there are so many things to look at and watch: people, faces, cafes, planes, machinery, movement and energy. I drew this last night while waiting for my flight. Sat at Gate 59 at Sydney’s Domestic T2, this is what was on view – the ground staff were loading up a Jetstar flight as dusk approached and menacing stormed clouds hovered over head in the distance. As I sketched people stopped to watch for a moment or stole a quick glance and then moved on – everyone hurriedly trying to get home on a rainy, wintery night.
